Tree Hugger

i need a hug.
am i wrong to say that i don’t trust the people around me
to hug me long enough,
to grip me genuinely enough?
i don’t need one of those from-the-side one-arm
“i don’t really feel like hugging you, but it’s the nice thing to do” type hugs.
keep your arms to yourself.
i need chest against chest
until we exchange breaths.
share your burdens with me without talking
and i’ll do the same.
nothing sexual, just being humane,
relational as we were meant to be.
even a tree stretches its branches away from itself
despite being climbed on,
arms being chopped off, sometimes broken by storms.
it keeps growing, stretching, pushing past comfort zones
until its undying effort is seen even in shadows.
we should be more like trees–
reach out even we are tired,
grow closer to others even if our hearts are solid as wood.
let nature guide us,
honor what’s inside us,
love often,
honestly, desperately, generously,
physically…
hug me.